25-man Manchester City squad spotted in training ahead of Napoli clash | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has overseen his final Manchester City training session ahead of the club’s UEFA Champions League opener against Napoli this week.

The Etihad Stadium side will be hoping to build upon their fine work on show at the weekend, as they executed a dominant game plan and performance against bitter city rivals Manchester United to take all three points with a 3-0 win.

Not for the first time it was a showing largely orchestrated by the wonders of boyhood blues Phil Foden and Erling Haaland, with the latter scoring a brace and the former opening the scoring with a tidy header from close range.

A number of other standout performances will give Guardiola plenty of hope of a good performance this time, with Gianluigi Donnarumma solid on his debut, Abdukodir Khusanov strong from right-back, and Jeremy Doku excelling with end-product in the final third.

The meeting with Napoli also represents an emotional first reunion with club legend Kevin De Bruyne, who returns to the Etihad Stadium just weeks after leaving the club on a free transfer after a stellar 10-season stay in the north-west.

Now, as Manchester City finalise their preparations for matchday one of their league phase adventure in the latest edition of the UEFA Champions League, here is the complete list of players spotted on the City Football Academy pitches from the first 15 minutes of the session!

25-man Manchester City squad in training

Goalkeepers: Donnarumma, Trafford, Ortega Moreno, Bettinelli.

Defenders: Lewis, Khusanov, Stones, Dias, Mfuni, Ake, Gvardiol.

Midfielders: Rodri, Nico, Phillips, O’Reilly, Nunes, Reijnders, Bernardo, Mukasa, Foden.

Forwards: Savinho, Bobb, R. Heskey, Haaland, Doku.

The injury list remains relatively unchanged for Pep Guardiola’s side, with Mateo Kovacic the closest to returning to training ground action with his teammates as he continues to recover from Achilles surgery early in the summer.

Rayan Ait-Nouri (ankle), Rayan Cherki (thigh), and Omar Marmoush (knee) continue their respective recovery processes with returns not expected in the immediate term, and more anticipated around the time of the next international break.

John Stones has made a return following a minor muscular issue that forced a precautionary withdrawal from England duties earlier this month, while Kalvin Phillips is continuing to build his own fitness ahead of a possible return.

From the Manchester City Academy, supporters will recognise that Stephen Mfuni, Divine Mukasa, and Reigan Heskey were the trio selected for a senior promotion on the training ground this week.